A conventional color scan utilizes three channels, one each for red, green, and blue (i.e., RGB channels). Monochrome image processing utilizes only one channel, and involves different processing and tuning than color image processing. Conventional copiers and scanners therefore operate in either monochrome mode or color mode. Some devices include a color button and a monochrome button—or other mechanisms such as control panel menu items—that are selectable to process an image as either a color or a monochrome document. This requires the user to select the imaging mode. Monochrome image processing uses approximately one third of the memory resources, and can be done three times faster, than color image processing. Generally speaking, image quality is better when the image processing mode matches the original document type. A monochrome document is best processed in monochrome and a color document is best processed in color. However, many users tend to choose color image processing for all documents even though quality would be better, and fewer resources would be used, if monochrome image processing were used for monochrome documents.